6. Salary Administration Policy

Section 6. Salary Administration Policy

6-1 Valuing Work @ Wellesley College

Develop and Recognize You Program

Develop and Recognize You is the integrated program of performance management, skills and career development, and compensation for administrative staff at the College. Develop and Recognize You serves as the foundation for the policies and practices relating to how we compensate employees and enables us to compete successfully in hiring and retaining high performing administrative employees.

The compensation philosophy is to pay competitively with the external labor market, considering both wages and fringe benefits in order to determine “total compensation.” Human Resources annually participates in appropriate surveys to determine competitive compensation levels looking at benchmark positions. Benchmark positions are jobs that are easily compared to other organizations, well-defined and representative of positions across the College. In addition, Human Resources compares benchmark positions with other non-benchmark positions throughout the College to ensure that all administrative staff roles are paid equitably. The survey data utilized varies according to where, and with whom, we compete for qualified employees for particular jobs. In some cases, the local labor market is considered and, for other positions, regional or even national markets are used. In addition to the comparisons made to other colleges and universities, general industry survey data is utilized when appropriate.

The responsibilities, skills and competencies described in an employee’s role document together with the employee’s prior experience, skills and abilities determine the pay opportunity while individual performance determine actual pay.

Develop You

Our performance management program is designed to encourage and promote communication between employees and their managers throughout the year. Every employee is entitled to an annual performance evaluation. This evaluation serves as the basis of compensation decisions and provides a forum for discussions about training, employee development and leadership development.

Recognize You

The foundation of our Develop and Recognize You program is the understanding and documentation of our roles at work and the skills and behaviors necessary to succeed in these roles. The role document collects meaningful information needed to classify a role at the appropriate level and determine the pay opportunity associated with role. Since the role document provides a clear statement of accountabilities, skills and expectations it is an essential tool in the performance management process. It is also a valuable resource during the recruiting process. Role documents should be updated when there are substantial changes to the role and the role document should be submitted to Human Resources for reclassification. Your current role document is always available from Human Resources.

Research Positions

Employees in this category are not classified as part of the Recognize You program; however, a role document describes the duties and responsibilities of the position. These employees are also entitled to an annual performance evaluation. Salary adjustments are reviewed by Human Resources and are also contingent on funding availability.

6-2 Extra Compensation

Temporary Assignment of Additional Responsibilities

An exempt employee may be required to assume additional duties and responsibilities during the absence of a colleague, and work is reallocated to ensure that essential work is completed. If the additional work is comparable to the employee’s regular duties and is performed within the employee’s normal work schedule, the employee will be paid her/his normal rate of pay and will not be eligible for a stipend or temporary salary increase.

An exempt employee may be asked to assume additional duties and responsibilities that are usually performed by an employee classified at a higher level for a substantial period. The employee may be eligible for a temporary increase in salary. At the end of the temporary assignment, the employee’s salary will return to the pre-increase rate. The temporary promotional increase must have the prior approval of the Assistant Vice President of Human Resources and the Division Head of the area. It is the manager’s responsibility to notify Human Resources when the assignment is completed so that the stipend can be stopped.

The law requires non-exempt employees to be paid by the hour and all hours over 40 hours in the workweek must be compensated as overtime at time and one-half. For non-exempt employees asked to assume additional responsibilities, the manager should contact Human Resources to discuss the situation and to ensure compliance with the applicable legal requirements.